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Broken Exhaust Bolt Removal Help!

  • Thread starter Thread starter TinkersCustom
  • Start date Start date
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TinkersCustom

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I removed my exhaust a while back to replace my chain and sprockets. Had to be pulled off to get the back axle out. Anyways, I broke the lower bolts right off on both sides. I have about 1/4 of inch of bolt still sticking out, but cant get it all the way out.

Ive tried spraying it and soaking it in penetrating fluid (free-all). Tried to use easy outs (drilled a small hole to get it started) and broke them trying to get it out. Short of welding a nut on the end (which i do not have welder or the skill required), or short of drilling it out, I am not sure what else to do. Im worried if i try to drill it out, Ill drill to far and in to the motor =\ I also realize the bolts go in at a very slight angle.

Do you guys have any suggestions?
 
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If you broke the easy out off inside the bolt it will probably be very hard/impossible to continue drilling it. If you still have a 1/4 inch sticking out, have you tried vice grips?
 
sam000lee said:
If you broke the easy out off inside the bolt it will probably be very hard/impossible to continue drilling it. If you still have a 1/4 inch sticking out, have you tried vice grips?
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Yes, since I have drilled out portions of the center, its is difficult to get a good grip with out destroying the remaining bolt sticking out.

If I wanted to replace the part of the engine it self, am I looking at a new engine or just a new head?
 
If you aren't going the nut-welding route I would say go for it and destroy the bolt threads if you can good a good angle on it. You could still go the weld a nut on route by just using a slightly larger nut, or by slightly drilling out the proper sized nut.

Other options are to take it to a machine shop or for probably the same cost - buy a cheap welder.

You can replace just the head if you go that route but are then also looking at gaskets, and the unknown condition of an ebay part, valve lapping, valve adjustments, etc.
 
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sam000lee said:
If you aren't going the nut-welding route I would say go for it and destroy the bolt threads if you can good a good angle on it. You could still go the weld a nut on route by just using a slightly larger nut, or by slightly drilling out the proper sized nut.

Other options are to take it to a machine shop or for probably the same cost - buy a cheap welder.

You can replace just the head if you go that route but are then also looking at gaskets, and the unknown condition of an ebay part, valve lapping, valve adjustments, etc.
Click to expand...
Yeah, i guess trying is better than giving up. Ill need a new head if i never try.... Thanks Ill give it a shot, ill check out harbor freight. I was going to weld it, since i bought a welder a while back. My house doesnt have a breaker that goes past 40amps though, so I returned the welder since it was way more powerful than that. Ill see if i can get a little mig welder for something super small and fuse some stuff together. If not, drillings gonna happen either way i think, regardless of if i, or someone else does it.

hmm....
 
mapp gas and a can of photo lense dusting airheat cycle it 20 times with a hit of gas to get it hot then inert the air can and ice it

it will give up
 
There's a member here Chuck who patiently spent several days walking me through getting my broken bolt out. { I still owe him a steak dinner } Like you I had a little bit to work with. PB Blaster and heat and vice grips on the bolt. Spent 45 minutes a day penetrating oil, heat, tighten, loosen. Didn't move for three days. Then a little bit of movement. Every day a little more movement. Took me a week but I got it out.......
 
bccap said:
There's a member here Chuck who patiently spent several days walking me through getting my broken bolt out. { I still owe him a steak dinner } Like you I had a little bit to work with. PB Blaster and heat and vice grips on the bolt. Spent 45 minutes a day penetrating oil, heat, tighten, loosen. Didn't move for three days. Then a little bit of movement. Every day a little more movement. Took me a week but I got it out.......
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So like a hair dryer? or like a torch?
 
It may be too late for this, but instead of vise grips try using a small pipe wrench. If properly set it won't slip off and will bite harder as you use more force. Also worth noting is that I have heard from a number of experienced mechanical guys I trust that Fluid Film is amazing at loosening corroded fasteners. Spray it on, let it sit a day or two and see if that does the trick.


Mark
 
what worked for me on several occasions is a cutter vise plier applied perpendicular to the thread on the leftover.
Bites really well where regular vise grips slip.

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Ill go buy a torch and pipe wrench. Ill see what I can do and report back with some pictures or a video or something! :) Thank you everyone for all the suggestions!
 
I have an GS450 engine on my bench with a broken exhaust stud. I've slowly been drilling it out...for about a year and a half now haha. Mine broke off flush so nothing to grab onto but somehow I drilled it really straight. I can just see where the original threads are and it still won't budge...
 
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Had the same problem and I sat and stared at it for about two months and finally got the nerve up to drill them out. I too broke of the easy out on one bolt but manage to get it out with a drill bit. I drilled out the bolts to near to the threads in the head and then proceeded to tap a new set of treads with my cheapy Harbour Freight set and presto, it worked great! I cleaned the tap frequently and oiled it as I went. I did not over drill as I took a measurement from one of the holes that the bolts came out of that were ok. Bolted on the exhaust, which is a pig of job sometimes, and ahe is up and running!
 
Current situation:
20171009_165332.jpg

Have not got the torch yet, and getting those left hand drill bits is a great idea. Will get both soon.
 
If the "easy-out" (never NEVER EVER use these stupid brittle things on a bolt that's stuck due to corrosion) is still stuck in there, there's no drill bit that's hard enough to get through the easy-out. Grinding or (sometimes) shattering the remnants can work sometimes.

I've never tried this, but supposedly you can dissolve these things with an alum solution. It eats steel, but not aluminum. Takes a while, though.

There are some other chemical methods -- many can be quite hazardous, so watch it. And keeping the solution in place is difficult in this case, since the bolt is angled down a bit. I suppose you could remove the gas tank, drain the oil, and suspend the bike vertically...
 
bwringer said:
If the "easy-out" (never NEVER EVER use these stupid brittle things on a bolt that's stuck due to corrosion) is still stuck in there, there's no drill bit that's hard enough to get through the easy-out. Grinding or (sometimes) shattering the remnants can work sometimes.

I've never tried this, but supposedly you can dissolve these things with an alum solution. It eats steel, but not aluminum. Takes a while, though.

There are some other chemical methods -- many can be quite hazardous, so watch it. And keeping the solution in place is difficult in this case, since the bolt is angled down a bit. I suppose you could remove the gas tank, drain the oil, and suspend the bike vertically...
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Yeah I was thinking dremel with cutting wheel. Maybe I can heat it all up enough, cut a slot, get a flat head in there and maybe some vicegrips on the flat head? It also didnt break off all the way in, Im pretty sure with a little patience I could get it out.
 
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